Bush: Warner-Lieberman Climate Change Bill Is Too Costly

President Bush argued against the cap-and-trade climate change proposal the Senate is debating Monday, calling it a "huge spending bill fueled by taxes."

Bush, in remarks to the press about the economy and tax cuts, said that the bill being pushed by Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and John Warner (R-Va.) would cost about $6 trillion, a price tag too high for the U.S. economy.

"You know, there's a much better way to address the environment than imposing these costs on the job creators, which will ultimately have to be borne by American consumers," Bush said. "I urge the Congress to be very careful about running up enormous costs for future generations of Americans."He continued: "We'll work with the Congress, but the idea of a huge spending bill fueled by taxes increases isn't the right way to proceed. And the right way for Congress to proceed on taxes in general is to send a clear message that these tax relief we passed need to be made permanent."

The Warner-Lieberman bill calls for specific caps on greenhouse gas emissions by industries. It also proposes a system through which companies could buy and sell credits that allow them to give off emissions.